Pistons for sale,

[He Filled it Up]

I would be surprised if anything happened before the season is over. The economy, state of the team, and position of the ventures of interested parties (Illicht's potential arena) all suggest that this won't be a quick deal. I think that the happenings of FAs could play a major role in this story, and potentially even the CBA agreement deadline.

But those are all opinions, I could wake up tomorrow and be forced to watch the Pacers vs. Los Vegas Aces or the Pittsburgh Ore.

[b-diddy]

theres 0 chance pistons leave detroit. if a buyer wanted a team in a new city, he would buy the bobcats or one of the other handful of teams that have been openly available for a while now that wouldnt cost nearly as much as the pistons.

pistons leaving detroit is not a concern. just typical lazy local sports media making up a story.

[Cowology]

theres 0 chance pistons leave detroit. if a buyer wanted a team in a new city, he would buy the bobcats or one of the other handful of teams that have been openly available for a while now that wouldnt cost nearly as much as the pistons.

pistons leaving detroit is not a concern. just typical lazy local sports media making up a story.

Exactly.

[ElectricMayhem]

Has Darko made enough money to buy the Pistons?

That situation would just be plain fun to watch.

[ADM]

Two things I'll go out on a limb and guarantee won't happen...

1) The Pistons will NOT move out of the Palace or Detroit area within the next five years (I personally don't think there's any threat at all of them leaving the area). A big part of the appeal of purchasing the Pistons is the fact that it has a privately-owned, debt-free stadium attached to it. While it's not perfectly state-of-the-art, it's better than half the stadiums in the league and is not in immediate need of a replacement. All the stadium talk now is just idle chatter by bored columnists who think it'd be neato to have another stadium downtown.

2) The Pistons, PS&E will NOT be sold within the next 365 days. Let's be serious here. This is a half-billion dollar asset located in the worst economy in the country, "competing" with several other NBA teams that are for sale (Bobcats, Warriors, etc). I think Karen Davidson is just putting it out there that the team is available, but I wouldn't expect ANYTHING to come of it for some time. In the absence of an obvious local who's had his eye on the team forever (Ilitch doesn't really fit the bill), it's going to take a while to attract a buyer.

And BTW, Dan Gilbert ain't buying this team. That ship has sailed; he owns the Cleveland Cavaliers and will not be buying the Pistons.

Also, FWIW, I don't blame Karen Davidson at all. This team was Mr. D's baby, not hers. Should she really be expected to hang on to it and pour cash into it because of that? I don't think so. Is it a travesty when a son/daughter sells their parent's house after they die? No. It's the way of the world. Pro sports team ownership is an expensive proposition. The Pistons are one of the few teams that seemed to make money in recent years, but you can bet your bottom dollar that won't be the case over the next few. I'd sell if I was her, too.

[Liqourish]

The parents house is not a good analogy. That house doesn't employ hundreds of people. They house doesn't affect the lives of many. That house doesn't help the economy of millions with it's revenue and taxes. That house doesn't make a profit year after year, even now in a bad economy. The Palace makes good money even when the Pistons struggle.

I have no problem with Karen exploring her options. I have a problem with the way she does things. Bill didn't want the team sold. He wanted it to stay and to be run accordingly. That's why he kept it in the family and made sure certain people stayed in charge at their positions. Karen doesn't care about anyone but her and her wealth. She flat out lied about the Shock being for sale and leaving Detroit. I wouldn't be shocked if she has made Joe Dumars the gaurantees she made Bill Laimbeer. I don't trust her one bit. She made her intention apparent during the summer at the Shocks home opener.

[breaker91]

Hey, I'm a Blazer fan, but I thought this story might be of interest to those of you who are tracking this potential sale. Basically, it's about the Tampa bay Lightning and how they've had a hard time making payroll. The guys who bought the team from Bill Davidson have been at each other's throats, lost tons of money on them and it looks like there is no way they'll recover unless the NHL subsidizes them even more. As the last owner, Palace Sports is the team's biggest debt holder, which is a bit of black eye on their books from the perspective of potential buyers.

http://www.tampabay.com/sports/hockey/l ... to/1067256

[ADM]

The parents house is not a good analogy. That house doesn't employ hundreds of people. They house doesn't affect the lives of many. That house doesn't help the economy of millions with it's revenue and taxes. That house doesn't make a profit year after year, even now in a bad economy. The Palace makes good money even when the Pistons struggle.

Karen Davidson selling the team isn't going to put hundreds of people out of work, it isn't going to remove the team revenue/taxes from the economy, and it isn't going to directly affect the profitability of the venture. It's going to transfer the asset from someone who doesn't much care about it to someone who does.

I guess I fail to see why that's a problem for anyone involved. Would you rather have an uninterested Karen Davidson continue to own the team out of some altruistic motive, only to cut back significantly on costs/spending because she cares infinitely more about the bottom line than about the on-court product? Does that do any of the workers or the local economy any favors? Do we really want a Donald Sterling-esque owner?

Bill Davidson built this team and it was his baby, but Bill Davidson isn't with us anymore. I wouldn't expect Karen Davidson, or you, or anybody else to "play house" with the team if their heart wasn't truly in it.

BTW, I sincerely doubt that the Pistons will make a profit this year. Maybe PS&E (I know nothing about those specific finances), but Pistons ticket revenue has fallen off of a cliff.

[mercury]

Forbes says the Pistons should get at least 400 Mil... even in this economy

[Trueblood]

Believe it or not, the Pistons are still pretty profitable. Ticket sales are down 20% but when you consider how high they used to be, 20% still puts them in the upper half of the league, albeit a league that is struggling like any other business in the economy. The thing that is great for the Pistons is the Fox sports contract. Fox pays $1 billion over 10 years to both the Tigers and Pistons. Naturally, the Tigers get more of that money since they play double the amount of games but we're talking $100 million a year over 10 years. Even if the split is 70/30, $30 million a year for a team at the cap level is guaranteed profit even if they have the lowest attendance in the league.

I often wondered why the value of the Pistons was in the top 5 in the elague and that tv deal has a lot to do with it.

[Cowology]

Believe it or not, the Pistons are still pretty profitable. Ticket sales are down 20% but when you consider how high they used to be, 20% still puts them in the upper half of the league, albeit a league that is struggling like any other business in the economy. The thing that is great for the Pistons is the Fox sports contract. Fox pays $1 billion over 10 years to both the Tigers and Pistons. Naturally, the Tigers get more of that money since they play double the amount of games but we're talking $100 million a year over 10 years. Even if the split is 70/30, $30 million a year for a team at the cap level is guaranteed profit even if they have the lowest attendance in the league.

I often wondered why the value of the Pistons was in the top 5 in the elague and that tv deal has a lot to do with it.

Wow, good stuff. Where did you find this info at?

[bstein14]

That's a major reason the Pistons are #4 on the Forbes list... The team's value is at an all time high.

There were fewer fans at the Palace last year, but the team still made a whopping $47 million, the most the team has ever made.

With much lower attendance the team may only make $10-$20 million this year but that's still much better than a lot of teams.

Also, when the league overall does bad, players actually don't get 10% of their salaries, which happened last season... so that's even more money for the team.

From the Forbes report

"he past year has been a nightmare for the Pistons. Beloved team owner William Davidson passed away in March (the team is now owned by his wife, Karen). The team won just 39 games, their poorest showing in eight seasons, and were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. It was the first time the Pistons did not make it past the first round since 2000. The team's 259 game sellout streak ended last season. Ticket prices have been slashed for the 2009-10 season and some suites remain unsold. Sponsorship revenue is also falling. The good news: the team's local cable deal was renewed for a 240% increase with the 2008-09 season being the first season on the new contract. Still, before the 2009-10 season the Pistons laid off 35 members of their 400 person office staff. "

[thesack12]

Its nice to hear some encouraging news for once. Its been gloom and doom a lot more than we all would like. Thanx for the knowledge Trueblood/BStein

[bstein14]

Check out this list of teams that made money last year... Only LA Lakers and Chicago Bulls made more...

Look at a team like Orlando who made it to the NBA finals and lost $2.2 million.

http://www.forbes.com/lists/2009/32/bas ... _Rank.html

[Piston Boris]

If Karen Davis does put the Pistons up for sale, I could see Dan Gilbert selling off his majority shares in the Cavs to take on the Pistons.

Another consideration for ownership would be from overseas, like what's happening with the Nets. Fortunately, Stern is reportedly committed to keeping the Pistons in Detroit. If the Pistons got a foreign owner with deep pockets, Dumars would have the money to throw at prime free agents in addition to his street cred as an asset.

[bstein14]

Also, the NHL might not approve Illitch to buy the Pistons, because it looks like Karen D may soon be owning the TB Lightening again.

As was posted above, the Davidsons were so eager to sell that team that they loaned the majority of the cash to the new owners who haven't been paying them back... So that team very well could go back to Karen and PS&E.

[ADM]

If Karen Davis does put the Pistons up for sale, I could see Dan Gilbert selling off his majority shares in the Cavs to take on the Pistons.

Ummm, no. Why on God's green earth would Dan Gilbert sell his stake in potentially the biggest athlete in all of sports to take on a struggling Pistons team? Unless he is rock-solid convinced that LeBron is a goner to New York or Miami this summer, there is NO reason whatsoever for him to sell.

[Liqourish]

The Pistons won't be sold anytime soon. Dan gilbert (if interested in the Pistons) will know the Cavs fate with LeBron before anything goes down.

[bstein14]

If Karen Davis does put the Pistons up for sale, I could see Dan Gilbert selling off his majority shares in the Cavs to take on the Pistons.

Ummm, no. Why on God's green earth would Dan Gilbert sell his stake in potentially the biggest athlete in all of sports to take on a struggling Pistons team? Unless he is rock-solid convinced that LeBron is a goner to New York or Miami this summer, there is NO reason whatsoever for him to sell.

The Pistons made $47 million last year.

The Cavs made $5 million last year.

[Piston Pete]

Well, plus, if Gilbert wanted to sell, he'd get more money while LeBron was still a Cav.